SAND LAKE PROPERTY OWNERS ASSOCIATION, P.O. BOX 690, DEER RIVER, MN 56636-0690 • WWW.SLPOA1.COM • WINTER/SPRING 2014/2015

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THE SLOT IS APPROVED

When the new 2014 SLPOA board photo was taken, Dan Dehn was in his “bear-stand,” so standing in for him is THE BEAR.

Otherwise... from left to right: Phil Thompson, Gary Weaver, Pat Sievertson, Dan Dehn (Bear), Chuck Baker and Vic Warnement.

Our 25th Anniversary Our Association was founded on 4-29-1989 as the South Sand Lake Home Owners As-sociation at Dick Siefert’s lake home. Now that we’re 25, we felt we should honor past board members (see page 3) along with some interesting dates and past events.

• 2-15-90... the name was changed to the South Sand Lake Residential Property Own-ers Association... a nonprofit corp. according to MN Statues.

• 8-25-90 ...the first annual meeting at the Sand Lake Town Hall. Robert Siefert was elected President and the annual membership dues were set at $7.50/year.

• 12-1-1990... the first Newsletter went out & the first Treasurers report... $432.02.

• Summer of 1998... we be-came the Sand Lake Property Owners Association.

• 1999 the membership dues became $15/year.

• 5-5-2000... Carl Bergquist.purchased the Birdseye parcel TO KEEP IT FOREVER WILD.

• In 2004... residents and the DNR rejected a “slot limit” for walleyes on Sand Lake.

• Also in 2004... Marti Wilson replaced Connie Vaughn as Edi-tor/ Publisher. Dave Smith took over from Bob Siefert, for water levels and secchi disk monitor-ing. Nancy Voltava helped get website up and running. (Continued on page 3)

David H. Smith, formerly of Rochester, passed away Saturday, Nov. 29 2014, at St. Mary’s Medical Center in Duluth, due to heart failure. David was born March 2, 1945, in Rochester, to Henry & Estella (Hofschulte) Smith. David was raised in Rochester & graduated from Rochester Lourdes High School. He married Pamela Gronseth in July 1965. He worked for Rochester Public Utilities for 35 years. He was a member of St. Catherine’s Catholic Church in Squaw Lake, & was a member of the parish finance committee. He served on the SLPOA Board of Directors & worked passionately to institute a slot limit on Sand Lake to protect the resource for future generations. He enjoyed spending time with his wife, children & grandchildren. He also loved fishing, hunting, playing cards, & spending time with his friends. I personally always enjoyed seeing Dave’s whizzing by the cabin heading to where he knew the walleye were that day. I remember his ATV riding down the road with Buster the dog in his specially made seat. We’ve lost an important & beloved part of the fabric of our community... John Perkins

Phil ThompsonPs. Waiting for the slot decision made this Fall Sand Paper late so it is being combined with the Spring 2015 issue. Look for the next issue in the fall of 2015.

STARTING WITH FISHING OPENER 2016 WE WILL HAVE A WALLEYE SLOT

On January 22nd the SLPOA board, along with the resorts were notified the walleye slot limit for Sand, Little Sand, Por-tage and Birds Eye Lakes was

approved by the DNR. An amazing statement considering it has taken over two years to accomplish this starting with the initial pro-posal in 2013. In the spring 2014 Sand Paper I explained that the DNR Commissioner rejected our proposal even though a 60/40 majority was in favor of a slot limit and the local DNR biological experts were for it. I also talked about a meeting Carl Bergquist and I had with DNR representatives, Ed Boggess and Al Stevens in St. Paul. It was important for them to understand what our lake association was about and the support there was for the proposal. This meeting along with numerous letters sent from many of you to the DNR Commis-sioner, Governor and State Representatives, along with support from our local DNR, Chris Kavanaugh and Dave Weitzel, turned the tide.

Special thanks to Chris Kavanaugh and Dave Weitzel for all their help.

Due to the late announcement and approval of the walleye slot, the date of implementation will be fishing opener 2016. The resorts, like the rest of us weren’t sure that the proposal would pass. Without a clear understanding resort guests, in most cases, were not expecting a walleye slot in 2015 when making their reservations. This will give everyone a year to adjust to the walleye slot. With support of the majority of the lake residents and the local DNR the answer of “NO” from the Commissioner wasn’t acceptable. The word that comes to mind is perseverance. Thank you for keeping our dream alive. Not everyone sees thingsthe same way; however, the bottom line is everyone wants the best for the lakes. Kavanaugh’s article has details.

BOARD ELECTION: An election at the annual meeting in August 2014 resulted in Chuck Baker and Pat Sievertson joining the board. Chuck and Pat replaced Dave Smith and Pam Troje who had reached term limits as prescribed in the SLPOA By-Laws. We are glad to have Pat back on the board after a year’s absence. Many of you know Chuck as one of the resident fishing experts. Both Pat and Chuck are committed to the well being of the lake. Both are full-time residents living on the lake. Dave and Pam’s dedication and ideas contributed greatly to our success. Sadly Dave passed away on November 29th. He was a

great friend and loved the lake. Dave was committed to improving the health of the lake and he did it with grace and a sense of humor. We’ll all miss him!

CONGRATS ON 25 YEARS...Thank you to all of the previous board members for 25 years of dedication to our lakes and residents. The indi-

viduals who first set up the lake association realized how impor-tant it is to protect the welfare of this beautiful area. Continu-ing to stay vigilant for 25 years and passing the legacy on to each new board is an incredible

accomplishment! I can speak for the present board members in saying how proud we are to be a part of this history. It is important to remember that each board member is a volunteer...this means 25 years of volunteerism!

WEED COPS: Volunteering for a few hours at the boat access is more important than ever. It is critical zebra mussels do not spread to other lakes...we can play an important role in that prevention. Also, Eurasian watermil-foil and spiny waterflea just to name a few need to be kept out of our lakes. Please contact Gary Weaver to sign up for volunteering.

There are many ways to support the health of Sand, Little Sand, Portage and Birds Eye Lakes. Whatever you do…THANK YOU!

Have a happy, healthy and blessed New Year.

Sand Lake Fishery Update 1/26/2015

By now, most of you have heard that the walleye protected slot regulation will be in place on Sand, Portage, Little Sand & Birdseye Lake beginning in May 2016. Waiting until 2016 allows more time to work with resorts, the lake association & others to adjust to the change. We felt that starting the regulation this year would be too soon, & would have caught too many people by surprise.

For the 2015 fishing season, the walleye regulations will be consistent with statewide rules; one walleye over 20 inches in possession but no other size restrictions. The fish population assessments conducted recently show very few walleye over 17 inches in Sand Lake. When the regulation starts in 2016 it will require anglers to immediately release all walleye 17 inches to 26 inches in length. With the relatively low abundance of walleye over 17 inches, we don’t expect there to be many fish that will need to be released. Please consider keep-ing track of how many walleye over 17 inches you catch this summer, it may help put the im-pact of the regulation into perspective. As time goes on, we expect anglers to catch more walleye over 17 inches as these fish get ‘recycled’ in the population.

Here’s a quick summary of DNR Fisheries activities on Sand Lake in 2014. A total of 1.9 million walleye fry were stocked on May 28, 2014. These came from the DNR hatchery at Tower, MN & were from walleye in Lake Vermillion. Although the DNR egg take site at Little Cut Foot is only a few miles away, Little Cut Foot is part of the Mississippi River watershed. Sand Lake is in the Rainy River watershed, so we use fry from that watershed.

All of the walleye fry were marked with oxytetracycline (OTC). The stocked fry were first immersed in a solution of OTC & water & held for six hours. The OTC leaves a mark on the otolith, a small bone in the fish’s head. The otolith is one of the first bones to develop in the fish. During the summer, DNR crews conducted shoreline seining in many areas in an effort to collect walleye fingerlings. Our goal was to collect at least 200 fingerlings to examine them for marks. We were successful in sampling well over 200 fingerlings & made sure we sampled fish from many parts of the lake. Approximately 60% of the fingerlings examined contained a mark, showing that natural reproduction is capable of producing many young walleye. It is important to remember that a marked fish is not necessarily an additional fish. For example, there were 1.9 million marked fry put in the lake, if there were 1.9 million naturally produced fry we would expect to see a 50% mark rate. This was the first year of the marking project & additional years of data are needed to draw any conclusions.

Fall electrofishing was completed in October & resulted in a very low catch of young of the year walleye. This was a bit surprising considering the large number of young of the year that were sampled in the summer with the seine. Electrofishing was done very late in the year, after water temperatures had cooled & water levels were low, all factors known to produce poor electrofishing catches. Why didn’t we do it earlier then? A very good question, the answer is because of the presence of zebra mussels. We sampled Sand Lake after all the other lakes were completed in order to reduce the risk of transferring zebra mussels on our equipment.

Fall gill netting was completed again on Sand in late September. We sampled a total of 61 walleye for a catch rate of 4.1 per lift. The catch in 2014 was very similar to what was observed in the 2013 sampling. Spawner abundance continues to be very low, the estimated spawner density in 2014 was 0.4 pounds per acre, lower than 0.9 pounds per acre in 2013.

The northern pike catch rate in the fall sample was about 4.5 per net. Several pike sampled were larger than 30 inches, the largest was just over 34 inches. Average length of pike sampled increased to about 20.4, compared to 19.3 inches in fall 2013 & 18.4 inches in summer 2011.

Please feel free to contact the Area Fisheries Office if you have any questions. We can be reached at (218) 999-7821 or chris.kavanaugh@state.mn.us

Thanks... Chris Kavanaugh

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Treasurer’s Report July 1, 2013 through June 30, 2014 Cash on Hand July 1, 2013 $14,935.78Income Dues Received 3,385.00Undesignated Donations 3,375.00Stocking Donations* 1,100.00Checking Account Interest 50.81Grant - IBM 3,000.00Cert. of Dep. Redeemed 20,100.12Sale of SLPOA Merchandise 50.00Total Income $31,060.93

Expense Comm. Printing & Office Supplies -1,997.88Postage -640.36Membership Dues -160.00Insurance -270.00Meeting Expenses -867.69Deer River PO Box -112.00Bank Charges 0.00Gifts Given -50.00Promotional Items -741.00DNR Inspectors (190 hrs.) -1,472.50Total Expense -$6,261.43

Cash on Hand June 30, 2014 $39,735.28

*SLPOA stocking donations balance $6,603.16 Respectfully Submitted: Vic Warnement, Trea-surer... Additions or corrections please e-mail them to me at: maxievic@paulbunyan.net or call (218) 659-4788. Thank you.

Sand Lake Property Owners AssociationBoard of Directors, Officers & Volunteers 2014/15We value your input, so please contact us.

President: Phil Thompson, Phone: 218-659-2136 Email: philbeththompson@msn.comVice President: Chuck Baker, Phone: 218-659-2955 Email: cbaker@paulbunyan.net Treasurer: Victor Warnement, Phone:218-659-4788 Email: maxievic@paulbunyan.netSecretary: Pat Sievertson, Phone: 218-659-2157 Email: garden_queen2004@yahoo.comDirectors: Gary Weaver, Phone: 218-659-2707 Email: gkweaver@paulbunyan.net Dan Dehn, Phone: 218-659-4796 Email: lucky_dehn@yahoo.comVolunteers: John Perkins: Sand Paper Editor & Web: Phone: 218-659-4754 or 828-698-5897 Email: jfpc2@paulbunyan.net

Starr Island UpdateBy Gregg Alle (Forestry Technician, Deer River, Chippewa NF)

A primitive picnic area is planned for the area cleared. Six of us went out to the Starr island Thursday, October 9. We cut some young aspen

to give us a place for piling. We wanted to stay away from the large white pine trees. We tipped the remaining shed over so we could remove the shingles prior to burning. We had hoped to collapse it, but it was pretty stur-dy. All burnable materials were put on a pile behind an existing fireplace or thrown in the shed. All non-burnable material that could be handled was

removed by boat to Island View & later hauled to the dump. The plan is to return this winter to burn the piles & remove the blocks & shingles, ice conditions permitting. Special thanks to Tom Bosiger & Elaine Rasmussen for making their places available to access & work on the island.

These experimen-tal/special regulations apply to Sand Lake and connect-ing waters, Bowstring, Little Sand etc.

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Limit: 1 over 36”

ALL 22-36” MUST BE RELEASED

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0” 17” 26” Over 26”

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South Sand Lake Home Owners As-sociation was organized on 4/29/89.NOTE Names are listed in the following order: President, Vice President, Secretary, Treasurer, Director,HD= Honorary Director

4/29/1989Robert SiefertJames DoyleRobert McNultyRobert McDonaldJack WaldonRichard SiefertTreasury: $432.021st annual meeting 8/25/90 Sand Lake Town Hall

12/1991Dick SiefertJim AndersonJack WaldonCurt LaRueBob SiefertJim DoyleTreasury: $517.15

12/1992Dick SiefertJim AndersonJack WaldonCurt LaRueCaryl BoyerConnie VaughanTreasury: $411.61

June ’92 became SLRPO

12/1993Jim AndersonCaryl BoyerJack WaldonConnie VaughanClyde EdwardsDick SiefertHarriet Nicholson

12/1994Connie VaughanBill PrestrudClyde EdwardsLouise KingKen LiberskyHarry BradyJim Anderson

12/1995Gary SettjeJinx (Harry) BradyClyde EdwardsTom RileyKen Libersky Gabe LarsonConnie Vaughan

12/1996Gary SettjeJinx (Harry) BradyRobert SiefertMyron HahnyKen LiberskyGabe Larson

12/1997Myron HahnJim OlmscheidBob SiefertWilly FredrickGabe LarsonDick Siefert

Sometime between 5/98 and 12/98 name changed to SLPOA

12/1998Jim OlmscheidWilly FredrickLloyd WestermannBob SiefertCedric GelleMyron Hahn

12/1999Willy Fredrick (Acting President)Jim Olmscheid resigned as presi-dent 4/99. No vice president.Lloyd WestermannBob SiefertCedric GelleMyron Hahn

12/1999Willie FredrickLloyd WestermannCedric GelleJames HansonJohn BusseWayne RhoadesBob Siefert HD5/5/2000Carl Bergquist pur-chased Birds Eye track.

8/2001Lloyd & Lenore WestermannChuck & Pat RamosJames & Arlene HansonCedric & Jeanne GelleJohn & Susan BusseJames & Audrey GustafsonWillie & Marilyn Fredrick HD

11/2001Chuck RamosDenis McGibbonJim HansonJim GustafsonJohn BusseKathy McGibbon

5/2002Denis McGibbon (Act-ing President, No Vice President)James GustafsonJim HansonChuck RamosMcGibbon replaced Ramos as President – wife Pat passed away.Kathy McGibbonJohn BusseLloyd Westermann HDConnie Vaughn, Sand Paper Editor

12/2002Denis McGibbonDave Smith Jim GustafsonCharles SchwenkeKathy McGibbonDennis Weestrand

12/2003Denis McGibbonKathy McGibbonWilbur WrightCedric GelleJames LuhrsDennis Weestrand

12/2004Lloyd WestermannSteve CasselmanWilbur WrightCedric GelleDennis WeestrandJames JustesenDenis McGibbonMarti Wilson, Sand Paper Editor

2/14/2005Conservation fund purchased most of Star/Big Arrowhead Island

12/2005Jim JustesenSteve CasselmanWilbur WrightElaine RasmussenRick HauckDon WilsonLloyd Westerman

11/2006Jim JustesenRick HauckDenis McGibbonElaine RasmussenBarney AdamsDon WilsonLloyd Westerman

11/2007Don WilsonRick HauckDenis McGibbonPat SievertsonBarny AdamsKathy McGibbonJim JustesenJohn Perkins, Sand Paper EditorTreasury: $18,244.83

11/2008Jim JustesenKathy McGibbonPam TrojePat SievertsonDenis McGibbonDon WilsonTreasury: $21,096.37

12/2009Jim JustesenKathy McGibbonPam TrojePat SievertsonPhil ThompsonDon WilsonTreasury: $22,147.10

11/2010Phil ThompsonPam TrojeVic WarnementPat SievertsonDave SmithJim JustesenTreasury: $23,953

12/2011, Fall 2012Phil ThompsonPam TrojeVic WarnementPat SievertsonDan DehnDave Smith Treasury: $25,145Fall 2012, Treasury: $28,202

Fall 2013Phil ThompsonDan DehnVic WarnementPam TrojeGary WeaverDave SmithTreasury: $34,935

Fall 2014Phil ThompsonChuck BakerVic WarnementPat SievertsonDan DehnGary Weaver

Zebra Mussels, Where Did They Come From... What Can We Do? Since zebra mussels were discovered in Sand Lake in May of

2013, the population has expanded around Sand & Little Sand Lake & in some areas their density has increased as well. A report from a lake shore property owner last fall indicated that

young of year mussels were present in the river between Little Sand & Rice Lake. The expansion of the mussel population has created a justified concern among many residents of Sand/Little Sand Lakes. Many wonder if there are tools or tech-niques available to counter the spread of mussels or even eliminate them from the lake. Current technology is exploring the management or control of zebra mussels but at the moment an affordable, widely applicable method is not available for open water/lake systems. Recent control efforts in a Twin Cities area lake have shown encouraging results in confined treatment areas. Thorough knowledge of an organism is necessary before any control methods can be devised or implemented. The zebra mussel has been studied within its home range around the Caspian Sea for decades. Focused & intense study of zebra mus-sels occurred in North America when they first appeared in the Great Lakes region in the 1980’s. A new resurgence of research projects has occurred in recent years as zebra mussels have expanded to inland lakes & rivers. New methods & tools allow researchers to conduct genetic studies that will expand our knowledge of certain characteristics of zebra mussels & may eventually lead to effective management. Dr. Mike McCartney of the Minnesota Aquatic Invasive Species Research Center at the University of Minnesota is studying zebra mussels. Last fall a small batch of adult mussels was removed from a dock post on Sand Lake as the dock was being removed for winter storage. The mussels were immediately sent to the University of Minnesota. Dr. McCartney will use these Sand Lake zebra mussels as well as other zebra mussel samples from lakes around the state to conduct genetic research. Dr. McCartney will be extracting DNA from the mussels, & using this DNA to try to determine which waterbody was the source of the mussels that invaded Sand Lake. The process will be accomplished by obtaining the DNA genotype of the Sand Lake mussels & comparing it to the genotypes of mussels from several different possible source populations. The methods of analysis are (1) a genetic “clustering” method, & (2) one that looks at patterns of ancestry of the Sand Lake mussels.

HAPPY 25th ANNIVERSARY SLPOA!(Continued from page 1)• 2-14-05... Conservation Fund purchased most of Starr / Big Arrowhead Island.• May 2007... the Northern Pike slot/bag limit was enacted for a 10 year period.• November 2007... John Perkins became Sand Paper Editor and Artistic Director.• Winter of 2013...our walleye slot limit was denied by the DNR Commissioner. • The 6-30-13 Treasures Report showed $34,935.78.

ACCOMPLISHMENTS• Coordinated with the MN DNR to create a Lake Management Plan includ-ing walleye stocking for many years• Adopt-A-Highway cleanup on both Rt.35 & Rt.4• “No-Wake” Buoys at Portage Lake and Little Sand

A special thanks to Mr. Lloyd Westerman, who has kept every Newsletter. Vic-tor Warnement is taking over as archivist who will be honored to be the keeper of our future Sand Papers. If anyone would be interested in reviewing the Newslet-ters and Sand Papers of the past, feel free to contact Vic. You will find them very interesting and enjoyable to review.

These 2014 Secchi readings were done by Dave Smith. With Dave’s passing, Mike Stettler has graciously accepted the task of reporting water clarity.

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L A K E W A T C HSecchi Readings... A visible disc is lowered into the water until it can no longer be seen.

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Member Email Address PLEASEWe’re doing better but we haven’t got everyone’s email address yet. Please include it on the Mem-bership Application or send it to me direct. My email address is jfpc2@paulbunyan.net. Thanks for your help... John Perkins

If you want your mail delivered to the lake... write that address. If you have a different address... write that one in.

Thanks...Vic Warnement

I joined our very own Sand Lake Social Network. You should too.www.nextdoor.com

It’s the place where we share information and photos of what’s happening around the lake... summer & winter... year round. Jim Hansen is our most prolific poster... Thanks Jim. The more neighbors we have involved the better it will serve us all.... Go to the website and start posting!

MEMBERSHIPAPPLICATION FOR 2015 CALENDAR YEAR • RETURN THIS PORTION WITH YOUR PAYMENT

TEAR OFF ON DOTTED LINE.

Voting members must be property owners on Sand Lake, Portage Lake, or Little Sand Lake in Itasca County. Sand Lake Property Owners Association is a tax exempt, non profit association whose purpose is to represent

the members’ common interest in the Sand Lake area and its environment. Our association is managed 100% by Lake Owner volunteers. There are no salaries. We operate completely on Dues and Donations.

MAIL TO: Sand Lake Property Owners Association PO Box 690, Deer River MN 56636 Your check is your receipt • Signed receipt sent on request.

Name(s) __________________________________________________________________________________________

MAILING Address___________________________________________________________________________________

E-Mail:____________________________________________________________ MAIN Phone #_____________________

(Alternate/Lake) Phone #____________________

2015 DUES...q $15.00 q DONATIONS $_____________ q STOCKING DONATION $________________

HELP!When you send us this form, please volunteer for activities that maintain the health and beauty of

our wonderful Sand Lake area.

Yes. Contact me... I’d like to help with:

r Weed Cops, Invasive species monitoring at the public landings

r Adopt a Highway... Trash pickup on Rt. 35 & Rt. 4 twice a year.

Remember this is your 2015 membership. Not 2014 or 2016

The Sand Paper and a lot more is on the SLPOA website...www.slpoa1.com

YES...SEND MY SAND PAPERS VIA EMAIL. Check the box to receive future newsletters by Email.

Contacts for Shoreline Regulation QuestionsWetlands adjacent to water bodies: Itasca SWCD- Matt Johnson, matt.johnson@itascaswcd.org 218-326-0017,Shoreland alterations, fill, rip-rap, retaining walls, beach sand blanket: Environmental Services-Jim Gustafson, jim.gustafson@co.itasca.mn.us 218-327-2857In water related questions: DNR-Erika.Herr@state.mn.us 218-327-4106

June 18th Spring Fishing Seminar

Can I get my Sand Paper emailed... Yup! Starting with the Fall 2015 issue, instead of snail-mail, you can choose to have it emailed. You’ll get it sooner NO FORWARDING HASSLES, it’ll be in full color & you can save the pdf format on your computer for future reference. Email also saves the association the costs of printing, han-dling and postage which may mean better door prizes at our meetings.

Aug.15th-10AM Annual Meeting...GOOD IDEA... BORING STUFF DOESN’T PUT ME TO SLEEP AS MUCH IN THE MORNING.